Money Management Computer Game is the Centerpiece of Effort to Improve the Financial Literacy of Students

Galveston, TX - November 17, 2009 - Tackling the problem of financial illiteracy among teenagers head-on, Texas First Bank and Visa Inc., with help from Dallas Cowboys Bobby Carpenter and former Houston Oilers Warren Moon, today announced an effort to improve the money management skills of Ball High School and Texas City High School students by introducing "Financial Football" – an interactive money management video game with an NFL theme.

The centerpiece of Visa’s nationwide educational initiative with the NFL and NFL PLAYERS, "Financial Football" helps students tackle their financial futures. This computer-based game is accompanied by a classroom curriculum. As part of this initiative, Visa Inc. has also donated a new mobile computer lab to both Ball High School and Texas City High School. The 10 Apple MacBooks being given to each school are laptops, which allow students and teachers to use them throughout the school.

"Texas First Bank is honored to partner with Visa to host the Financial Football Program here in Galveston. Money management skills are important to the future success of these students, and we are proud to invest our resources in helping our young people meet this challenge," said Charles T. Doyle, Chairman of the Board, Texas Independent Bancshares/Texas First Banks.

Demonstrating broad-based support for having financial education begin at home and extend to the classroom, a new study released by Visa shows 91% of consumers surveyed believe all high school students should take a financial education class before graduating.

Visa and Texas First Bank hope "Financial Football" can help local teens do just that. Available online at http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/football, "Financial Football" puts students’ fiscal knowledge to the test in an online simulation game environment by combining the structure and rules of the NFL with financial education questions of varying difficulty. To score points, a team needs to answer a series of money management questions correctly. Wrong answers and penalties can cost a team yardage. The team with the highest point total after four quarters wins the game.

This event is part of a national educational campaign with Visa, the NFL and NFL PLAYERS, now in its fifth season. Since 2006, Visa has reached agreements with twenty-three states to distribute "Financial Football" to every high school in those states including: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin.

"For over a decade, Visa has been committed to promoting financial literacy and we are proud to assist Texas First Bank in their efforts to strengthen financial education efforts locally," said Jason Alderman, director of financial education, Visa Inc.

"Financial Football" is part of Practical Money Skills for Life (www.practicalmoneyskills.com) a free, award-winning, teacher-tested and teacher-approved financial education program that is available in English, Spanish and Chinese. The program contains three comprehensive sections, complete with money management resources and lesson plans tailored for use at home, in the classroom or at work. It also contains an array of tips to help prepare for life changing financial events, from planning for a baby to saving for college and retirement, as well as a number of other budget calculators and interactive games. Visa also runs What’s My Score (www.whatsmyscore.org), a leading higher education consumer awareness program. The website guides college students through the ABC’s of a FICO credit score, from factors that can lower a score to ways on improving it, at no charge.

About Visa Inc.
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is the world’s most advanced processing network—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 10,000 transactions a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

For more information or to schedule an interview with a Visa spokesperson, please contact Steve Burke at (703) 683-5004, ext. 108.